Addiction
by Bella7
Summary: CSI50 prompt-lust. Calleigh's hiding a secret addiction. A little E/C.


A/N: Just a bit of silliness, really. Enjoy!

**Prompt 41-Lust**

_His lips found hers then in a hungry bittersweet fervor. His tongue slipped between her swollen, supple lips, absorbing her intoxicating nectar. She moaned against his mouth as his hands moved under her t-shirt and over her soft, curving skin. Impatient, she grabbed his hands and moved them up to experience her burgeoning, throbbing breasts…_

_BEEP!_

Calleigh's book nearly fell out of her hands at the sound of the microwave timer going off. She fanned herself lightly, setting down _Untamed Savanna _and shared a look with Cubano. "That Savanna," she said very seriously, "is quite the hussy," she ran her nails over the cat's velvety fur before rising to her feet. She pulled the microwave door open and removed her reheated tea. As she closed the door, Calleigh caught a glimpse of the time—it was already seven thirty.

"Oh my goodness," she said mildly to herself. "Where did the day go?"

But she knew exactly where the day had gone. After she'd gotten back from the gym that morning at nine, Calleigh had plopped herself down on the couch and buried her nose in her new book.

Calleigh didn't have many vices. She didn't smoke, only drank occasionally and never more than she could handle, never used drugs, didn't engage in any risky behavior beyond her job. But when it came to romance novelist Precious Winters, Calleigh was a hopeless addict.

It had started when she was thirteen and had discovered her mother's secret stash under the bed. On long, sticky Louisiana summer afternoons, Calleigh would hole up in her tree house and read for hours, mesmerized by the language and the utterly ridiculous storylines. Having been raised by a woman who defined the word "distracted" Calleigh had attributed everything she'd ever learned about sex to Ms. Precious Winters.

Boy, did _that _set her up for disappointment that first time.

Still, Calleigh forgave Precious for her high expectations and had continued buying her books on the sly since she was seventeen. No one had ever found out about her love of trashy romance. In college, she had explained the occasional book away by claiming they were her roommate's or a friend who had left it there. Once she'd moved on her own though, that particular secret was the easiest of all to keep. Her books were in a suitcase under her bed and only ever saw the light of day one at a time.

There would be no end of humiliation if someone ever found out.

Normally, she purchased them online through —she got a discount for being such a loyal customer—but today, on her way home to enjoy a blissful day off, she had caught sight of a new display in the bookstore a few blocks from the gym. It was a sign. Keeping her sunglasses on for fear of recognition, Calleigh had darted into the store, purchased the book—with cash, of course—and had scampered home as fast as her car could take her.

She leaned against the counter and took a sip of her tea. A laugh escaped her lips when she looked at the time again. Seven-thirty. That was a little sad. She had planned on doing some paperwork, catching up on her reports, maybe even researching some new technologies or surfing the web for upcoming seminars. Instead, she'd been swept up in the unbridled passion of Savanna and her string of lovers.

Feeling a little guilty for wasting the day, Calleigh moved to her briefcase and dropped a pile of folders on the coffee table next to her overturned book. Just as she was about to sit down and get comfortable with her work, there was a knock at the door.

Eric was waiting with a smile when she opened the door. "Hey," she greeted, mirroring his grin. "What's going on?"

He shrugged. "I'm hungry," he said bluntly. "Plus, yesterday was my day off and today was your day off so we haven't hung out in about three days."

She smiled. "Yeah, I guess that's about right," she moved aside, "Come in."

"You want to go get some Chinese or something?" he asked, stepping out of his shoes.

"Yeah, absolutely," Calleigh shut the door behind him as Cubano wandered over to greet their guest.

"Hey!" Eric's smile doubled at the sight of the small cat. "Look at you!" he exclaimed, bending down to pick him up. "He's gotten so big."

"I know, he eats like a machine," Calleigh shook her head.

"So how was your day off?" he asked as the cat nuzzled his chin.

"Oh, it was fine. I did paperwork most of the day," she lied, motioning vaguely to the coffee table behind her. "I can be ready in about twenty minutes if you don't mind waiting."

"I don't mind," he smiled good-naturedly at her.

"Can I get you a drink or something?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Okay," she backed up toward the staircase. "Make yourself at home, I'll be quick."

Eric took a seat on Calleigh's well loved sofa. He looked down at the file folders and shook his head. Calleigh was a workaholic—even on her day off she had her nose to the grind.

Cubano tired easily of Eric's lazy petting and leapt from his arms onto the coffee table. "Are you allowed to be up there?" Eric asked ducking to be at eye level with the furry housemate. Cubano—in typical cat fashion—ignored him and began prancing along the length of the table knocking over a file, the television remote and a thick paperback in the process. Eric sighed. "Now, I know you're not allowed to be doing that." He moved the animal down to the ground and scooped up what the cat had discarded.

He shouldn't have looked at the book. He knew that. He should have just picked it up and put it back where he found it. But it had fallen open and…well…the word _breast _had caught his attention.

He was a guy. These things happened.

As he heard the shower turn on upstairs, his eyes fell to the passage that had opened.

…_she grabbed his hands and moved them up to experience her burgeoning, throbbing breasts._

Throbbing breasts? _Throbbing_? Eric felt his brow crinkle. He'd seen a fair amount of breasts in his day. Big, small, perky, fake. They'd bounced (the real ones) and remained stationary (usually the fake), jiggled and occasionally seemed to dance on their own accord…but throbbing breasts? That was a new one. Still, despite his confusion, or perhaps because of it, he read on.

_With her own hands free to wander, Savanna trailed her fingers over the hard smoothness and strength of his chest, her fingertips exploring the contours of bone and sinew. As Angelo's tongue plundered her mouth, she moved her hands once more over the corrugated leanness of his flat abdomen and then down further, coming to rest on the driving need of his sex._

"Jesus Christ," Eric murmured, turning the book over to read the title. Did Calleigh really read this shit? _Untamed Savanna _showed a picture of a couple more or less having sex on the back of a horse. Was that even possible? Mindlessly, he flipped further in the book.

_"I want you inside of me, Roman," Savanna purred, toying with a piece of straw…_

"Roman?" Eric asked himself as he back to where he'd started. "What happened to Angelo?" Upstairs, he heard the water stop rushing and immediately felt a wave of embarrassment.

Frantically, he put the book back the way he'd found it and locked eyes with Cubano, his only witness. "This never happened."

Calleigh came down a few minutes later in jeans and a light sweater, smelling like a fresh shower. She smiled and grabbed her purse. "Okay, we can go."

"Great," Eric leapt from the couch and followed her out to his car.

It was much later that night when Calleigh was getting into bed. Dinner with Eric had been fun, they'd laughed at the usual stupid things, bantered merrily, and had discussed work. She'd had a great time. She always had a great time with Eric.

He'd dropped her off relatively early—they both had work in the morning. Calleigh had managed to finish two of her remaining reports before succumbing to her addiction and burying her nose in the book once more.

It was just after midnight when she approached the final section of _Untamed Savanna_. Her heart was racing, fingers anxiously turning the pages, eyes widening with each twist and sudden turn when the phone rang.

She screamed and dropped the book again. Taking a moment to calm down, Calleigh reached beside her and grabbed her phone. "Hello?"

"I have to ask you something," Eric's tone was serious.

Calleigh's brow furrowed. "What's up? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just have to ask you something."

"Fire away."

"What the hell happens with Angelo?"

Calleigh stopped and pulled the phone away from her ear. She stared at it for a few long moments. _Untamed Savanna. _She had left it out on the coffee table. Jesus Christ—how could she have been so stupid?

"Calleigh?" Eric asked, sounding anxious. "Calleigh, are you there?"

"Eric Delko," she began gravely, "did you read my book?"

"Look, I know I shouldn't have but it fell off the table and I just…caught a glimpse of a few paragraphs."

"And yet you know that Angelo doesn't stay with Savanna?" She couldn't believe she was discussing this.

"Does he leave her? Because it seems like he's getting the job done, at least at the part where I am."

She blinked. "I'm sorry? The part where _you _are?"

"I was curious," he mumbled almost incoherently.

"Eric, I swear to God, if this is you making fun of me… It's not like I read them all the time…it's my thing that I do."

"Calleigh," she caught the hint of a smile in his voice. "I'm not going to tell anyone."

"Thank you."

"As long as you tell me what's going to happen with Angelo."

Her mouth opened and closed a few times. "If I tell you, it ruins the story."

"What story?"

She sighed. "What chapter are you on?"

"Three."

"She leaves him," she sighed, hating herself for giving the plot away. "But it's not until chapter twelve."

"Why?"

"I'm not telling you everything! Where's the fun in you reading it then?"

He sighed. "But I thought she loved him."

Calleigh wanted to hug him through the phone. "She does…she's just afraid of her feelings for him."

"Well that's stupid."

"No it's not!" she argued. "It's real life!"

He scoffed. "Whatever you say, Cal. I'm saying if Savanna really loved Angelo, she'd get off her high horse and just be with him."

"Read the book before you give me your judgments."

Eric sighed. "Good night, Calleigh."

"Good night, Eric."

She hung up the phone and returned to the final page.

_"I'm sorry I hurt you, Angelo," Savanna sobbed, tears streaming down her porcelain cheeks. "You have to know that I've loved you forever."_

_Angelo reached out a shaking hand and wiped away her tears. "I know, Savanna. I'm sorry you felt that you couldn't trust me not to hurt you."_

_"Our pasts are just so…"_

_Angelo silenced her with a kiss. "Past is past, Savanna. I've never loved anyone the way I love you."_

_"I love you too."_

_He swept her up into his arms and onto the horse, carrying her off to a lifetime of blissful happiness and sweet love-making._

She sighed and put the book on her nightstand. She shut off the light and curled up under her blankets. At least someone was able to get off of her high horse. Calleigh waved good night to the elephant in the room and fell soundly asleep.


End file.
